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[Ownage]

BBC to air 'brutal' 1984 drama that caused country 'sleepless nights'

The BBC will air the 1984 drama Threads, the first time it has been shown on the channel in over a decade and only the fourth time it has ever been shown on network television

www.gazettelive.co.uk

Watching the responses is going to be entertaining.

 

[RagnarokIV]

Never heard of it.

Is it actually "brutal", "haunting" etc. like Chernobyl or is it like those boomers who think Dr Who and the shitty trash can monsters are "scary".

Edit:

Just looked it up and I actually saw it when I was a kid! I guess this drifted into obscurity. Never in my life has anyone mentioned it.

 

[daffyduck]

Brutal and a little haunting, but I don't know about scary.

 

[Hookshot]

Seems it was last night

 

[AJUMP23]

OK

 

[Nitty_Grimes]

They need to put Ghostwatch on on Halloween.

 

[calistan]

Never heard of it.

Is it actually "brutal", "haunting" etc. like Chernobyl or is it like those boomers who think Dr Who and the shitty trash can monsters are "scary".

I remember watching it as a kid. We were on holiday in the Lakes District, it pissed it down for days, and Threads was on TV. Most miserable holiday ever.

edit: It's on the iPlayer now.

 

[NecrosaroIII]

Why would I have to go on a shitty social media platform just to see big black cock?

 

[RagnarokIV]

I remember watching it as a kid. We were on holiday in the Lakes District, it pissed it down for days, and Threads was on TV. Most miserable holiday ever.

edit: It's on the iPlayer now.

I just looked it up and I actually saw it when I was a kid! I can almost smell the dodgy dark red council estate carpet lol. I guess this drifted into obscurity, never in my life has anyone mentioned it.

 

[Robot Carnival]

oh. this one. I think I read about it before on some other threads on devastating movies or something. would it available on anything else such as Netflix or Prime?

 

[Trilobit]

I think it's time they remade it. It's kind of rough to watch today and I think it would be good if the younger generations watched it too.

 

[6502]

Awesome movie. Thanks to Threads if the nukes start dropping I hope I am at ground zero. Fuck living through what comes after.

 

[Kraz]

I'd almost completely forgotten about that movie. Remember there being a lot of talk about it. Might watch again if it's made available. I know I was mixing some stuff up with some other film when I was rewatching Floyd's Wall, which came out on superchannel around the same time. It's probably that film.

 

[calistan]

Around the same time there was an American equivalent called The Day After, where the most emotionally tense scene was when the family dog gets locked out of the bomb shelter.

Meanwhile the British one had a woman pissing herself in the street at the sight of a mushroom cloud, summary executions for looters, a return to feudal society, rapings, and mutant babies.

oh. this one. I think I read about it before on some other threads on devastating movies or something. would it available on anything else such as Netflix or Prime?

They definitely released it on DVD.

 

[jason10mm]

Around the same time there was an American equivalent called The Day After, where the most emotionally tense scene was when the family dog gets locked out of the bomb shelter.

Meanwhile the British one had a woman pissing herself in the street at the sight of a mushroom cloud, summary executions for looters, a return to feudal society, rapings, and mutant babies.


They definitely released it on DVD.

But did Threads have the GUTT?!?!?

no, no it did not!

 

[daffyduck]

oh. this one. I think I read about it before on some other threads on devastating movies or something. would it available on anything else such as Netflix or Prime?

You can try checking Justwatch to see where/if it's streaming locally.

 

[Ownage]

Around the same time there was an American equivalent called The Day After, where the most emotionally tense scene was when the family dog gets locked out of the bomb shelter.

Meanwhile the British one had a woman pissing herself in the street at the sight of a mushroom cloud, summary executions for looters, a return to feudal society, rapings, and mutant babies.


They definitely released it on DVD.

Mutant babies was just the beginning. Humanity, according to Threads, would turn into this fella:

BTW, Threads is on YouTube for free watching. It's where I saw it. Was depressed for a day or two after seeing it.

 

[AJUMP23]

They need to put Ghostwatch on on Halloween.

Saw that the other day, really good.

 

[Tams]

I was made to watch it in secondary school. It's okay. Very of its time and dated. It didn't give me nightmares or anything.

I watched the BBC's showing of it last night. Had to stifle some laughs. They did a great job on a very limited budget though.

Watership Down on the other hand...

 

[Hookshot]

Watership Down on the other hand...

People rightly mention the violence but the runtime is the real issue for kids. Over 2 hours of it.

 

[lifa-cobex]

Horrible flick.
I don't mean that it's a bad film.

I just find it hard to watch.

 

[calistan]

I watched the BBC's showing of it last night. Had to stifle some laughs.

Laughs? Damn, times have changed. Back then I was terrified that this would happen, it seemed imminent. The ‘protect and survive’ government leaflet posted through every door, showing how to make a shelter out of doors and mattresses.

They had early warning sirens in every major town, and one time the one nearest me went off - just for a single rise and fall - and I damn near shat my pants.

As Cormac McCarthy says in The Passenger, the bomb is lying doggo for now, but it won’t be forever.

 

[Puscifer]

I watched it out of sheer curiosity this afternoon but holy shit did this bother me a lot. it just felt REAL and the low quality video and practical effects aided in that.

 

[Bulletzen72]

Laughs? Damn, times have changed. Back then I was terrified that this would happen, it seemed imminent. The ‘protect and survive’ government leaflet posted through every door, showing how to make a shelter out of doors and mattresses.

They had early warning sirens in every major town, and one time the one nearest me went off - just for a single rise and fall - and I damn near shat my pants.

As Cormac McCarthy says in The Passenger, the bomb is lying doggo for now, but it won’t be forever.

Yep! I'm an 80's child from the UK and I remember that well. I remember a teacher telling us how to cope and what to do when (not if) the siren came on. Fucking terrifying! I was 10!

 

[DAHGAMING]

Never heard of it.

Is it actually "brutal", "haunting" etc. like Chernobyl or is it like those boomers who think Dr Who and the shitty trash can monsters are "scary".

Edit:

Just looked it up and I actually saw it when I was a kid! I guess this drifted into obscurity. Never in my life has anyone mentioned it.

I hope your not ungreatfull to Mr 2Tier for letting you watch this ? You will watch it and you will be very shaken and fearfull, if not you will be put away for a 3yr sentance.

 

[RagnarokIV]

I hope your not ungreatfull to Mr 2Tier for letting you watch this ? You will watch it and you will be very shaken and fearfull, if not you will be put away for a 3yr sentance.

I haven’t paid their shitty TV tax in 20 years so they probably get their globe trotting Scott Dobson after me I watched this mate

 

[The Stig]

Oh God, I aint watching that again.

 

[808mate]

Thanks for the heads-up, I've been meaning to watch this for the longest time.

It's also available on the iPlayer for the next 11 months.

 

[Dr.D00p]

Utterly Horrific...Fuck me those 80s fashions and hairdos leave a scar on the psyche.

 

[Deleted member 1159]

I think the thing that makes this so effective is, even for how dated it can seem, it feels very realistic in both what happens and how matter of fact it presents it. People are obviously distressed but don’t come off as melodramatic (if I remember right). The local authorities gather and dutifully try to execute emergency protocols and, true to life, are mostly ineffective. And then end up dead. And the post apocalypse scene seem realistic as well. Society doesn’t go away completely, it just reverts back to the 1800s once all the infrastructure has collapsed.

I dunno what the lightning in the bottle is here specifically, but it’s a well crafted, well acted, well paced and believable scenario from that time period and I think it holds up very well. And The Day After isn’t bad at all either, it just feels more Hollywood. I bet if Nic Meyer weren’t making it for TV, it would’ve been darker. But it’s still pretty bleak.

 

[SirKicksalot]

The nuke scene is wonderful. The final section probably inspired Albert Pyun's entire career; you're so drawn in by the authenticity of the first part that you don't ever realise it turns to nonsense. That's masterful storytelling.

 

[jason10mm]

The real question is...would anyone BOTHER to nuke England these days, or have they fallen so far off the geopolitical radar since the 80s that all the nukes aimed at them have been redirected to Scandinavian countries

 

[Dr.Morris79]

Never in my life has anyone mentioned it.

They did, especially on Gaf. You just didn't remember

 

[calistan]

The real question is...would anyone BOTHER to nuke England these days, or have they fallen so far off the geopolitical radar since the 80s that all the nukes aimed at them have been redirected to Scandinavian countries

Russian TV did a charming simulation a couple of years ago, personally directed at Boris Johnson, of nuking the Irish Sea to swamp Britain beneath a radioactive tsunami.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/05/03/russia-ireland-nuclear-weapons-video-ukraine/

 

[jason10mm]

Russian TV did a charming simulation a couple of years ago, personally directed at Boris Johnson, of nuking the Irish Sea to swamp Britain beneath a radioactive tsunami.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/05/03/russia-ireland-nuclear-weapons-video-ukraine/

Huh, well the Japanese did it to themselves for free and we are still eating the sushi

too soon?

 

[calistan]

Huh, well the Japanese did it to themselves for free and we are still eating the sushi

too soon?

The only solution to pollution is dilution.

 

[Tams]

Laughs? Damn, times have changed. Back then I was terrified that this would happen, it seemed imminent. The ‘protect and survive’ government leaflet posted through every door, showing how to make a shelter out of doors and mattresses.

They had early warning sirens in every major town, and one time the one nearest me went off - just for a single rise and fall - and I damn near shat my pants.

As Cormac McCarthy says in The Passenger, the bomb is lying doggo for now, but it won’t be forever.

Yep! I'm an 80's child from the UK and I remember that well. I remember a teacher telling us how to cope and what to do when (not if) the siren came on. Fucking terrifying! I was 10!

Either MAD works and we're fine.

Or it doesn't and many of us are fucked.

 

[Dr.Morris79]

Russian TV did a charming simulation a couple of years ago, personally directed at Boris Johnson, of nuking the Irish Sea to swamp Britain beneath a radioactive tsunami.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/05/03/russia-ireland-nuclear-weapons-video-ukraine/

Or as it would be known in my town, an improvement.

 

[Nitty_Grimes]

The real question is...would anyone BOTHER to nuke England these days, or have they fallen so far off the geopolitical radar since the 80s that all the nukes aimed at them have been redirected to Scandinavian countries

Yeah we've still got the American airbases. And probably some of their nukes in our silos.

 

[Nitty_Grimes]

Ah... the two of us in tandem again, wasn't deliberate on my part. You need some £3000 glasses on your dear comrade leader.

 

[Dr.Morris79]

Ah... the two of us in tandem again, wasn't deliberate on my part. You need some £3000 glasses on your dear comrade leader.

Mines waiting for a 'donated' pair

 

[RagnarokIV]

Alright I finished it (and I ain’t paying your child rape TV tax, fuck the BBC)

Alright I’ll be honest. This is weak compared to Metro 2033 (the book).

I’m tempted to make a thread but that book fucken shook me for months. More than this film ever will. The game didn’t do the book justice, it was good as a game and a great example of adapting one medium to another but the book is on a different level.

But yeah, this film is decent enough. But if you want to get depressed, despise the idea of nuclear war and want to hate humanity and wish we never existed - Metro 2033 is where it’s at.

 

[Superkewl]

Watched it on YouTube last night because of this thread. I liked it better than The day After.

 

[808mate]

Just finished watching it.

It was really messed up, which was to be expected. A lot of imagery that would definitely have pushed the boundaries at the time of broadcast.

And even though it was relentlessly bleak, it was also compelling, and the runtime time flew by.

 

[Nitty_Grimes]

What are peoples opinions on By Dawns Early Light?

Not post apocalypse like the others but a similar scenario.

 

[Methos#1975]

Around the same time there was an American equivalent called The Day After, where the most emotionally tense scene was when the family dog gets locked out of the bomb shelter.

Meanwhile the British one had a woman pissing herself in the street at the sight of a mushroom cloud, summary executions for looters, a return to feudal society, rapings, and mutant babies.


They definitely released it on DVD.

The Day After attack sequences were nightmare fuel for most of us that watched it in the 80s in a way that Threads doesn't capture.

There are several BD releases of Threads, I have one with a cool motion cover.

 

[Phobos Base]

Seen Threads once, never want to see it again. For me the fact it looks like a soap opera, and the target is an unremarkable northern city, just makes it all the more horrifying.

 

[Lunarorbit]

I think the thing that makes this so effective is, even for how dated it can seem, it feels very realistic in both what happens and how matter of fact it presents it. People are obviously distressed but don’t come off as melodramatic (if I remember right). The local authorities gather and dutifully try to execute emergency protocols and, true to life, are mostly ineffective. And then end up dead. And the post apocalypse scene seem realistic as well. Society doesn’t go away completely, it just reverts back to the 1800s once all the infrastructure has collapsed.

I dunno what the lightning in the bottle is here specifically, but it’s a well crafted, well acted, well paced and believable scenario from that time period and I think it holds up very well. And The Day After isn’t bad at all either, it just feels more Hollywood. I bet if Nic Meyer weren’t making it for TV, it would’ve been darker. But it’s still pretty bleak.

The sense of realism is a great point. I wonder how much it influenced The Road?

The end scenes you talk about where everything is plight was hard hitting. Just rural agriculture that doesn't work cause the ground is dead. And people being blind.

And the final arc where the children born after the bomb talk in pidget and don't have any morals.